Validation of the Japanese version of the quality of recovery score QoR-40

Purpose The quality of recovery score QoR-40 is a recovery-specific and patient-rated questionnaire to assess the early postoperative health status of patients. However, the Japanese version of the QoR40 has not been established. The aim of this study was to validate the quality of recovery 40 Japanese version (the QoR-40J) according to the methods adopted by the International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) project. Methods After obtaining ethics committee approval and consent, 192 general and otological surgical patients were studied. The QoR-40J was used to measure postoperative health status on day 3 and 1 month after surgery. The level of quality of life was also evaluated using a general, health-related quality of life questionnaire (Short-Form Health Survey-36 sub-scales; SF-36), at 1 month after the surgery. Psychometric analysis including the following properties: test–retest reliability, internal consistency, predictive validity, and measurement of responsiveness, was performed to validate the QoR-40J. Results Test–retest reliability (Spearman’s correlation coefficient) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) of the QoR-40J were 0.887 and 0.91, respectively. A significant relationship was observed between the total QoR-40J score and duration of hospitalization ( r = −0.291) and between the global QoR-40J score and postoperative scores of the SF-36 sub-scales (physical function, ρ = 0.287; vital score, ρ = 0.349). The standardized mean of the QoR-40J, a measurement of responsiveness, was 0.70. Conclusion The results of the psychometric analysis indicated that the QoR-40J has characteristics of acceptable validity, reliability, and responsiveness in clinical practice in Japan. The QoR-40J may aid in evaluating the quality of recovery after surgery or the quality of methods of anesthesia.